Last Updated on January 24, 2024 by Tori Pines
This morning we had to check out of our hotel, the JW Marriott Lima, before we did a Lima cooking class, so we packed up and got on our way. We are so sad to be leaving this insanely gorgeous hotel, but we had to make our way to our next one where we would be meeting our tour group for the rest of the trip. We are doing an 8 day tour through G Adventures, and this afternoon our tour begins!
If you haven’t read my other days in Peru, be sure to start there and then read all about day 3!
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Exploring Miraflores
It was a 30 minute walk but we had extra time, so we walked all the way north along the ocean, through some beautiful parks including the famous Parque del Amor. The park has a big sculpture of a couple “tangled up in love”.
Side note: these pants that I wore were so insanely comfortable! I bought them just for this trip and I’m so glad I did. They’re cute comfy and super breathable. Get some pants similar to mine on Amazon!
We stopped at a little creperia called Beso Frances for breakfast, had a cappuccino, fresh orange juice, a crepe and banana. Along the walk there were hundreds of runners, all of the locals were getting their morning workout in with a beautiful view out over the pacific. It was actually pretty crazy how many people were out running, we had trouble just walking down the sidewalk.
Market Tour and Lima Cooking Class
Eventually we made it to the new hotel, Hotel Santa Cruz, which is where we would be picked up for our day tour. We added on a 4 hour Lima cooking class and market tour through G Adventures. We started off at the local market which was huge and sold everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to meat and other grocery products to home goods. The market was filled with locals doing their weekly grocery shopping.
We stopped at a fruit stand inside the market and got to try two new fruits that we had never seen before. The first one, called Chirimoya, was extremely delicious and kind of tasted like a combination between coconut and pineapple. Hello pina colada!!! The other, called Granadilla, was much more unique and looked like an orange filled with fish eggs, haha it was quite unique!
After the market tour we went to the fish market located right on the ocean. There were tables piled high with the fresh catches from the morning, and huge pelicans waiting eagerly for the scraps. The pelicans were my favorite. They sat right along the wall of the market, just inches from the people. They were not afraid of us, and even modeled for some photos. The tour guide was super informative all morning, teaching us so many facts about Peruvian life and culture, the food culture here in Lima and Peru food facts as a whole.
Lima Cooking Class
Finally we arrived at the restaurant for our Lima cooking class. It looked out over the beach and had the perfect ambiance for a day of cooking and eating local Peruvian food. It was a small group, only 7 of us, which was perfect. We started by making the famous Pisco Sour, the “official” drink of Peru. It is similar to a whisky sour, but made with the liquor called Pisco, which comes from the town of Pisco, Peru. It is actually made out of grapes!
Next we made Causa, a dish that I have already had every day I’ve been here and one of Peru’s most popular dishes. A cold appetizer made with potato, avocado, tomato, onion and a meat of choice. Last we of course made ceviche out of fresh caught white fish from the pacific. The ceviche was delicious and was a lot of fun to make, but I didn’t do nearly as good of a job as the restaurant did, where I had it the first night. But hey, I tried! And it was still super delicious.
We sat down and enjoyed our creations while chatting and getting to know the other people in our group. We have already had several “small world” conversations with other tourists and it’s been so fun to meet people that you have things in common with from around the world.
The Lima cooking class that we took was so much fun, and was definitely our favorite thing that we did in Lima. You should book a similar tour to our Lima cooking class while you are in town too!
Exploring Barranco – After our Lima Cooking Class
When we got back from the tour, we had a few hours until we met our group for the rest of the trip. In the meantime we decided to walk to Barranco, the arts district just south of Miraflores. It was less touristy, but still has beautiful views over the water.
We started at the bridge of sighs. You are supposed to walk across the bridge while holding your breath and making a wish. If you make it across, your wish is supposed to come true. In typical tourist fashion we crossed and wished and then took some photos. It was a busy little area with a mix of locals and tourists. There was a super cute market in the main square where we shopped and Ally bought some honey from the Amazon. Like, the rainforest, not the website.
Meeting our G Adventures Group
11 miles and sore feet later, we made it back to the hotel to meet our group! We are doing an 8 day tour with G Adventures. It’s a well known tour company that offers options all across the world. They always focus on something they can give back to the community during the tour, and often have outdoorsy-adventure type tours.
I’m not always a huge fan of tours for my personal type of travel style. But they can be extremely useful or necessary for certain destinations, types of trips or for different types of people. Since it is Peru, and a strenuous hike, we wouldn’t have done it without the group.
Chifa for Dinner
We met the people and got a brief rundown of the plans for the next 24 hours!! The group seems awesome and we are excited to get to know them more! 2 other girls in our group decided they wanted to go with us to the water fountain park after dinner. So Ally and I ran to grab dinner at a traditional Peruvian Chifa, which is Peruvian Chinese food. Our guide recommended Madam Tusan which was located just down the street.
This food plays a huge role in Peruvian culture so we thought it made perfect sense to give it a try. We are so glad we did because it was so delicious and unique! The menu consisted of many dishes that looked similar to what we are used to at Chinese restaurants back home. However, the ingredients were very different. It truly represented a perfect blend between Chinese and Peruvian dishes and we loved everything about it.
Cirtuito Magico Del Agua
After dinner, Anette and Lucy joined us as we headed to the water fountain park, Circuito Magico del Agua. The park is so special because there’s a huge light show that moves along to the music. They also have a show projected on the water several times each night. It was huge and beautiful and a super special experience. It is the world’s largest fountain complex, and will only cost 4 soles to enter, or about $1. The park was definitely a highlight of Lima!
We are off to Cusco in the morning where we begin our experience at altitude! Be sure to read all about our experience with altitude sickness during Day 4 in Peru, as we explore Cusco and learn all about!
What great information. And you guys did a fabulous job at the cooking class
Thank you Kathy! It was so much fun!